Python range() Function

range(stop) — One Argument

When you pass a single number to range(), it produces numbers starting at 0 up to (but not including) that number. This makes range(5) produce 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 — five values in total.

for i in range(5):
    print(i)

range(start, stop) — Two Arguments

Passing two numbers sets a custom starting point. range(start, stop) counts from start up to, but not including, stop.

for i in range(2, 7):
    print(i)

range(start, stop, step) — Three Arguments

A third argument sets the step size, letting you count by twos, count backwards, or skip values. A negative step counts downward.

for i in range(10, 0, -2):
    print(i)

range() Inside for Loops

range() is most commonly used to repeat an action a fixed number of times, or to loop by index when you need position information alongside your data.

names = ["Asha", "Rahul", "Meera"]
for i in range(len(names)):
    print(i, names[i])

Converting range() to a List

range() itself does not create a list — it produces a memory-efficient range object that generates numbers as needed. Wrap it in list() when you actually need a real list, for example to print it directly or pass it to functions expecting a list.

numbers = list(range(1, 6))
print(numbers)

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]